THE Of. 



GARDEN YARD **" 



places even in September, the turnip-rooted 

 variety may be sown for fall and early winter 

 use, but special attention must be given to 

 tilling them so that the soil may not be too dry. 

 The best and firmest of the roots may be stored 

 for winter use, and for better prices. 



Early beets are sold in bunches of six, but 

 late crops are sold in baskets or barrels. Five 

 to eight pounds of seed are needed for each 

 acre ; one ounce wiU sow from 75 to 100 feet of 

 drill. The average crop is from 300 to 400 

 bushels to the acre. 



Beets have three serious diseases: root-rot, 

 for which apply lime to the soil; leaf-spot, kept 

 in check by spraying with Bordeaux mixture; 

 scab, for which the only cure now used is not 

 to plant where the land is infested. 



Beets respond to special fertilizers, which 

 may be used if the soil is already rich in plant 

 food, and the market will afford enough profit 

 to pay for the extra expense. At the New 

 Jersey Experiment Station from 400 to 700 

 pounds of nitrate of soda well-worked into the 

 soil before the plants were set out, increased the 

 yield from 10 to 23 per cent. ; and the earliness 

 all the way from 17| to 135 per cent. In the 

 "Farmer's Cyclopedia of Agriculture," Messrs. 

 Wilcox and Smith of the Department of Agri- 



